Thoughtful Generosity or Consumerism: Christmas Choices

Published: December 18th, 2008

We all feel the pinch at Christmas.  Each year the list of people to buy for gets longer and the number of must have gifts get larger and more expensive.  How do we react to the spending trends of the Western World?  Can anyone keep up?  In the USA alone last year:

• $26.3 billion was spent on gift cards

• $19.8 Billion on computer games

• $9.3 Billion on jewellery

• $5.8 Billion on toys from Santa

• $700 million on candles

• 67 million Turkeys were bought

• 131 pounds of eggnog was drunk


  

In just 10 years holiday spending has risen by almost 100 billion USD (inflation adjusted). In 2007 consumers accumulated $12.8 billion in new debt, one third of them were still paying off debt they accumulated in the 2006 holiday season. The consumerist message is nauseating and our personal debt is reaching crippling levels. How do we approach such an important season of celebration and feasting over our Lord Jesus Christ without falling into the money trap?

I love Christmas. From September onwards I have White Christmas playing on repeat in my car, I hang Christmas lights and I purposely walk through the festive displays in stores just to soak up the magic. I will endeavour to convert any scrooge around me, which leaves me torn when it comes to the issue of spending wisely.  I could always opt for the Buy Nothing option, but I am torn. Whilst I hate consumerism, I am a consumer and I live in a nation based on consumerism. With the economic downturn, western nations are already struggling. People are losing jobs and homes. A generous person cannot ignore that their withdrawal from the spending madness affects the economy and the economy affects people.

In 2006 stores added 596 000 employees for the holiday season. Indeed Black Friday traditionally marks the day when retailers start to make a profit for the entire year (they get out of the red and into the black). The shopping dates 17th-23rd December fill the camel’s hump for the remainder of the year, which provides ongoing employment. 
Our society currently needs Christmas spending like a heroine addict needs… well… heroine. It’s not good, but you can’t just take it away suddenly. 

So what to do?

As with most generous lifestyle shifts, the first thing we need to do is sit down and wipe the slate clean.  We must re-think how we want to celebrate Christmas. Whether you have a faith or not – Christmas is an important celebration for family and culture. Work out what it is that is special about Christmas and then celebrate that. Kids don’t remember last year’s presents, but they do treasure memories.  So create new memories and honor old time values and traditions.

My favorite Christmas was one that we celebrated one December 27th. We were away for Christmas itself so we gathered around an open fire with homemade soup, played games and exchanged some gifts (with White Christmas playing in the background of course). I loved that we had a simple Christmas and had time to be with each other, rather than cooking and cleaning up all day with intense indigestion.


Let’s not consume because we are brainwashed into consuming. Give good gifts, but don’t get into debt doing it. Spread out the spending or saving during the year. Maybe just have one gift per person this Christmas, wrap it beautifully and place it on their dinner plate. Or fill stockings with lots of useful things people need to buy anyway. When you buy gifts and festive food from local stores or farm shops that need your business, you can save small businesses who are hardest hit by recession.

Maybe we need to get back to quality and not quantity with gift giving. The need for quantity is a poverty mentality. The love of quality is celebratory. The best quality is homemade. So bake or make gifts that celebrate the season.

If you could wrap time up in a box, it would be the most precious gift under the tree. Time is the most original gift you can give. It may be priceless, but it’s better than anything you can buy with Mastercard. A trip to the cathedral carol service, Christmas walks in the park, trips to coffee shops, help with the dinner, decorating the house, or sitting down and playing a game – these are the things that make Christmas; not something with ‘Made in China’ stamped on the bottom of it.

So what's on your Christmas shopping list? Love, time, home baking, justice for the poor, health for the sick, home for the homeless, water for the thirsty or just a bit of Christmas spirit?  Get creative this Christmas!

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